Railroad-car door



E. PRESCOTT; Railroad OarDoo'rs.

No. 229,052. Patented June 22,1880.

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EDWIN PRESCOTT, OF HAMPTON FALLS, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

RAILROAD-CAR oooR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,052, dated June 22,1880,

Application filed February 27, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN PRESCOTT, of Hampton Falls, county ofRockingham, State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement inRailroad-Oars, of which the following descriptiom'in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification.

This invention-relates to improvementsin freight-cars, and has for itsobject such aconstruction thereof as will permit the doors to swingoutward when unfastened, thus leaving them free to be readily moved orslid, notwithstanding swelling or bulging of the car-body or settling ofthesills by reason of either weather or weight, the said doors beingfree to move, notwithstanding the collection of ice and snow at thesides of the car and above the fender,

the latter, besides protecting the lower ends of the doors from injury,whether closed oropened,

also acting as a check to prevent too great outward movement ofthe doorsattheirlower ends.

In this my plan I prefer to employ the doorhangings such as are fullydescribed and shown in United States Patent No. 183,325, heretoforegranted to me; but I desire it to be understood that I may, instead,employ any usual hanging which leaves the bottom of the door free tomove out or in, or as in my Pat ent No. 196,996.

I have placed upon the door-sill and door or doors devices which I shallherein denominate door-binders, they beingcomposed of a finger or studand an arm so located on the door and sill, and in such relation eachwith the other, that they co-operate or interlock to hold, and ifdesiredforce, the door or doors closely against the car side or sill asor just before the door or doors come to the closed position, to bethere secured by the usual fastening device, such as a hasp, hook, orlook.

In freight-cars as usually made the lower ends of the doors when openedare liable to be struck and injured by wheels or other things, asthefender extends only across the door-space. In this my plan I haveextended the fender to protect the doors both when closed and opened,and I have provided each door with a stop to strike against the fenderand limit the outward motion of the door at its lower end.

Figure 1 represents, in elevation, a sufficient portion of a car-body toillustrate my invention, the left-hand door being partially opened,showing its binding devices separated, while the right hand door showsthem engaged, the righ t-hand end of the car-body being broken awaybeyond the door. Fig. 2 is a section of Fig. l on thelinezrw; and Fig. 3is a. sectional a stop, 9, that extends down into the space h,

between the car-body and fender i, said space being sufficient to permitthe door, when free from its binders and unfastened, to move outwardlyat its lower end, said movement being more or less in extent accordingto the width of the said space.

The doors I) 0 are shown as provided with a hasp, 2, to engage a staple,3, on the door 0, a pin, 4, being provided to hold the two inengagement. These devices 2 3 4 constitute what I denominate as thedoor-fastening devices. They are common, and instead of them, it isobvious, I may employ any other fastening de vices commonly used forlike purposes.

Each door has connected with its lower end, as herein shown, a finger orstud, d, and upon the sill I have arranged to co-operate with it at theproper time an arm, e, the stud in this instance being connected withthe door, but might be on the sill and the arm 0 on the door.

When the stud and arm, which constitute the binder, come together as thedoor reaches its closed position, the door is, by the said binderdevices, held closely in contact with the side of the car or silllaterally, and in such position may be fastened.

When the door is unfastened and slightly 7 moved back its lower end isloosened, so that it may be moved outward to a limited extent, whichleaves it free to slide horizontally, not withstanding swelling,bulging, or settling of the car, as hereinbefore referred to.

By locating the studs cl substantially at the center of the door,-andthe arm e on the sill at a point distant from the closing line of thedoor equal to the distance of the stud from the front edge of the door,I am enabled, as itwill be seen, to press each door inward bya singlestud and arm.

In Fig. 3 the filling-piece j is shown, it being interposed between thedoor-sill and part i and in line with the recess h.

I claim 1. In a railroad-car, the combination, with the car body or silland a sliding door left free to move outward at its lower end under thelimitations described, of a stud and arm, lo-

, cated with relation to the door and sill as described, to hold thedoor against the car body or sill as it reaches its closed position,substantially as set forth.

2. In a railroad-car, a sliding door left free at its lower end to moveoutward, as described, away from the ear-body when partially opened,combined with the stud and arm, located as described, to hold the dooragainst the carbody when closed, and with door-fastening devices,substantially as described, to keep the door closed.

3. In a railroad-car, the body and sliding door left free to be movedoutward at its lower end from the car-body, as described, when the dooris unfastened and partially opened, combined with the fender on thecar-body and the stop on the door, arranged to travel in the spacebetween the fender and car-body, to limit the extent of outward movementof the lower end of the door as it is opened. 7

4:. In a railroad-car, the car-body and the sliding door arranged tomove outward therefrom at its lower end when partially opened, combinedwith the binding devices at the lower end of the door and sill, thefastening devices to hold the door closed as the binder holds it pressedagainst the car body or sill, the fender, and the stop on the door, saidstop being free to run between the fender and car-body and limit theouter movement of the door at its lower end, while the fender protectsthe door when opened, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two' subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN PRESCOTT.

Witnesses:

. G. W. GREGORY,

N. E. O. WHITNEY.

